Our journey to and with Holly

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While I was sitting on the couch yesterday, Holly wanted to have some books read to her. She would grab one book, bring it to me, ask to be picked up and sit in my lap, then when the book was finished, I’d help her down and she would fetch another book to repeat the process. We did this 15 times, all before 10:00 AM. I have to admit, I was giving a less passionate performance around book 12 😉

Happy Birthday to our Baby Girl! It’s absolutely amazing how quickly this year has gone for us. It seems like yesterday that we were posting about bringing Holly home. And what a fun year it’s been! Holly is an amazing little girl. Here is what she is doing at 1:

She has several words that she can say, these include: light, button, kitty, doggie, duckie, Daddy, Mama, Nana, hi, yeah, necklace, monkey, kick and ball. She can also meow like a cat. She understands a ton more than what she can actually say, and will happily fetch a book, or one of her toys when asked to get them. She can point to her head, feet, and ears when asked where they are, and points to our nose when asked where that is. She can also sign “all finished” and “more”, and is working on “milk” and”water”

She is a walking maniac. She started walking about a month ago, and it is now her main means of getting around. She loves to walk so much that when we set her down on the floor, she starts to laugh.

She’s also an excellent dancer, and will sway back and forth or bounce up and down whether there is music playing or not, she’ll often sing to herself and dance along with the song she is making up. When she wants us to play something, she will sing and dance, then look at us.

She prefers finger food to pureed baby food now, and makes it clear that she is ready to eat on her own, usually by bursting into tears when she sees the jar of baby food. She’ll eat almost anything, and will try any new food we put in front of her. she may not always like it, but she’ll always give it a taste at least once.

She is a very happy girl, but she is also highly opinionated, and if she isn’t getting what she wants she’ll let you know in no uncertain terms. But she is easily pleased and it really doesn’t take much to make her happy, a book, a toy, or several kisses to the belly usually does the trick.

She loves people and will wave and say “hi” to perfect strangers on the street. She loves animals and gets wiggly and excited whenever she sees one, whether it be a cat, dog, or even pigeons.

Books are her favorite toy, and she will frequently ask to be read to. She likes to flip the pages herself, and points to the pictures and asks “Dah?”, to which we dutifully answer “pig”, “dog”, “flower”, etc.

Holly is a joy and we are so happy she is in our lives. Here are a few pictures of the last year.

Hi. We’re in the process of changing the site’s design. The old design was nice, but was too narrow for displaying all of the photos we want to display. You may see the site design change a bit in the coming weeks, but I promise we will land on something eventually and stick with it 🙂

I know we’re not updating as often as folks would like, but baby time is just so darned different than real time! So we’re trying for once a month.

Holly continues to be a joy. She is talking like crazy, all kinds of great coos and gurgles. She will have conversations, responding to a question with a sweet noise, just like people 🙂 She is getting so big, over 12 pounds, and we think she’s getting longer every day. She sits up with the assistance of pillows or the corner of the couch and likes to be held in a standing position. She hates tummy time with a passion and is very clear about her feelings on that subject. She’s happy and healthy, and we couldn’t ask for more.

Now, what you really want, pictures

Jeans and t-shirt photoshoot (Sept. 14th):

Peacock outfit (Sept. 17th):

Baby’s first IKEA. Yes, we got the puppets for her (Sept. 19th):

Morning smiles and her birth marks on back of head (Sept. 22nd):

“One million dollars!” (Sept. 22nd):

Grasping her first object (a shoe, which makes Mom very happy), plus a cute outfit on Kate’s birthday (Sept. 25th):

Baby’s first swing is all a blur. She loves it by the way (Sept. 28th):

Holly checks out the baby in the mirror. Cue “You’re so Vain” (Oct. 5th):